Kateryna Hirnyk10:37, 17.05.25

It was the Turkish side that proposed a 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner exchange.

At the talks in Istanbul, the Russian side refused to negotiate in the presence of American representatives, but Turkish representatives were present at the meeting, CNN writes .

A Turkish official told the publication that talks between Ukraine and Russia were “more positive than expected.”

“They were more positive than expected. They didn’t use accusatory language,” he said.

The Russian team demanded that Kyiv withdraw troops from Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson – four regions that Russia tried to illegally annex in 2022. A Turkish official said that Russia’s demand that Ukraine withdraw troops from territory still under its control was made “in the context of talks about a ceasefire.”

“At a time when it seemed that the situation had reached a dead end, we proposed an exchange of prisoners of war, which would include three categories – children, civilians and soldiers. The Ukrainian side contacted (the top leadership) to get approval for this,” the Turkish official said.

At the same time, he noted that the Russian team “seemed to need less consultation than the Ukrainians.”

(C)UNIAN 2025